Hello
We just had a fab weekend we left early and got a truck to a village, via a market where we brought bananas, at the village we had lunch. The local kids had little bracelets we brought from them for 20p, one little girl got Colin and just tied it on so he couldn't escape and she was sooo cute so anti-jewellery Colin now has a little bracelet. Then we wandered around the village and I gave the local kids some of the bananas which they loved as the local trees in their village aren't ripe at the mo so it was a bit of a treat. It was a lovely little village and everyone was really nice saying hello etc, one tiny little boy in particular to a shine to us and followed us on his little trike through the village, he must have only been about 2, but he was wandering all over the place.
Then the trek began, the guide said there would be two uphill climbs we did 2 fairly steep climbs and reached another village and I said that was the uphill bits done and he said no he didn't even count those and there are two more on the way to the next village that we stayed in and these really where an uphill climb, no wonder he didn't count the first two little ones. It really was hard going, thankfully Melissa and Rachel are as unfit as me and us four stick together with the guide and Hungarian couple who don't even seem out of breath far out in front of us.
At the village it was just a family in their hut and another for us, no electric and no running water unless of course you count the near by river where the drinks are stored to keep them cool. The toilet was a little squat toilet in a bamboo hut up the hill on the other side of the river.
We walked/climbed over the hill to a near by waterfall where we got in, but it was freezing, I was amazed at Colin as he was the first in, l think it may have helped that we where with 2 gorgeous English girls and he obviously didn't want to seem a wimp.
We then had dinner that they cooked in their hut, yellow curry and sticky rice with a bean dish, really scrummy we sat around a big table eating it together in the dark with only candles for light. There where six of us Rachel, Melissa, two 22 year old English girls and a Hungarian couple. Also a local little boy called Jowa who took a shine to Colin and spent some of dinner sitting on his lap or cuddling him.
After dinner we sat around a fire in front of our hut, Jowa only 8 years old starts our fire for us and shows us magic tricks with a piece of string, his English is amazing, especially when we ask if he goes to school and he says NO, even his magic tricks are really cool and numerous. Jowa then plays cats cradle with Melissa, but Melissa is soon left behind as Jowa knows far more.
Our guide then comes out and we sing songs around the camp fire, the Hungarian couple have left us but Melissa is cool and has a good voice and she knows the words better then us three. Jowa is mesmerized by the guitar and even sings along with some of the songs he knows. He keep our fire going and even goes and collects and breaks more bamboo too put in it.
Our guide then goes to see the 'doctor' and leaves us promising to be back, the doctor soon comes out and offers us a try of opium, strangely enough we all decline and sit talking around the fire instead. Unfortunately when our guide return he is ready for bed not up to singing any more, not blumin surprised.
We then go to bed which is actually a mat and blanket on the floor, a blanket for a pillow and a blanket for over us, we then spend a freezing night in this semi open hut with bats and bugs flying over us. Obviously not the best nights sleep.
We are woken at 8ish by a very happy and rather hyperactive guide we have breakfast of scrambled egg with toast and jam and coffee and tea which you drink out of old jam jars. Jowa again joins us eating my scrambled egg and takes Colin's camera which he just picks up and uses instantly without being shown how and looks through all the old pics of our trip pointing out in English various creature etc. Again cuddling Colin.
We are soon off on another trek out of the village to the elephant trek apparently only 30 mins, but actually the trek is well over an hour again uphill in places. The elephant trek is cool. We are on the largest elephant a big male, while the others are on smaller female elephants, although one has a small baby which follows its mum. At the end of the trek we feed the elephants the rest of the bananas and the elephants are not as well behaved as the elephant in Krabi and I am soon pushed around as they are trying to find more even though they have eaten them all.
Again another trek to the truck taking us to the bamboo rafts another 30 mins that again is well over an hour with a large uphill section, over river etc so we end up we wet and muddy feet. We are soon at the truck and meet another couple who have been on a different trek and are dropped off at the bamboo rafting place. The rafts are literally pieces off bamboo tided together and we float down the river Colin, Melissa and I on one raft, the Hungarian couple, who stream ahead on another and the new couple, Rachel and a guide on another. The rafting is cool, but quite hard going as it is hard to balance and the river is very shallow at some points and we go aground and crash and quite deep at others. Me I fall over onto my bum, with Colin laughing :O(
We then get a truck back to the guesthouse after a noodle dinner, very tired, dirty and wet.
